Government wants swift approval for the Civil Framework for the Internet.

Yara Aquino
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia – The government will urge the National Congress to expedite the approval of the Internet Civil Rights Framework bill, motivated by allegations of espionage on the communications of Brazilian citizens by the United States National Security Agency (NSA). The Minister of Institutional Relations, Ideli Salvatti, said that the violation of sovereignty and the privacy of citizens is "unacceptable." "It is something very serious," stated Ideli.

The minister reported that President Dilma Rousseff has taken the necessary steps, contacting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Police, and said that a prompt response from the National Congress is also expected.

This afternoon, Ideli will meet with the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Henrique Eduardo Alves (PMDB-RN), to request expedited voting in the House. Currently, the bill is with the Chamber's Board of Directors. The minister expects the bill to be voted on quickly by the Chamber and pass in the Senate before the parliamentary recess, scheduled for the 17th of this month.

When questioned about the conflicts of interest that previously prevented the project from going to a vote, Ideli said that the fact that citizens' privacy is at stake makes the issue a priority. "Any and all conflicts of interest become secondary, tertiary, or even fourth priority."

The minister does not rule out the need for rapid improvement of the project before it is put to a vote. "Perhaps the most important point in this project is precisely the safeguarding of information, its transit through the network. We need to reaffirm, very firmly, that the safeguarding of this information can only be done in Brazil."

Editing: Nadia Franco